THE WAR BEGINS

Text Pages 172 178

After examining the letter from John McCrae, respond to the following questions:
1. What does this primary source document the letter convey about the
experience of those who served in WWI?
This document shows us how cruel and hard the war was. They experienced the terrible
war that kept them awake, injured or dead for a long time.

2. How does this document help you understand why this war was significant
in Canadian History?
As a commonwealth country, Canada was forced to participate in the war, and
we lost many lives in the war.

3. In light of McCraes words, how would you sum up how war affects soldiers
on - both sides of the battle lines?
The soldiers on both sides were lost heavily. Both of them could not sleep, and
rest for a long time.

Quick notes about Canada in 1914

CANADAs POPULATION IN 1914: ___________________________________

The CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY CONNECTED CANADIANS

FROM:

_________________________

TO

_________________________.

MAIN CAUSES of WAR

M
This means using a ______________ force to defend or promote the countrys interest.
To protect
themselves in their colonies against invasion by rival empires, some European
countries spend vast sums on
their Armed Forces. In the years leading up to World War I, for example, Britain's
_________ was the
largest in the world and ______________ had the largest army. But Germany was
racing to catch up to
both.

A
In the late 19th and early 20th century's, European countries formed ____________ to
try to maintain a
____________ ___ ______________whereby no single country can become more
powerful than the
rest. By 1914, conflicting imperial ambitions in the build up of military might had
created two large power
blocks. The Triple Alliance, or _________________ __________________, included
Germany, AustriaHungary, and Italy. The _______________ _______________, or Allies, included France,
______________, and Britain.

Cause
and
Consequence: If you were a country with many neighbours, how would
maintaining the balance of power be to your advantage? What might the
disadvantages be?

I
Britain, France, Austria Hungary, Germany, and Russian __________________ powers.
Imperialism is the
policy of extending the ______________ of one country over other countries through
_______________
_______________ or _________________ control. This was the source of tension as
European countries
tried to expand their empires. The _________________ _________________, for example,
controlled
more than 25% of the worlds territory and people.

From their colonies, European countries imported _________________ ____________

_________________, such as minerals and lumber, to feed their factories. The colonies
also served as
markets were good manufactured in the homeland were sold. This gave the
European countries economic
power and lead to competition for overseas colonies.

N
This is an excessive _____________ in ones own _____________, and was growing in
the years before
World War I. Austria-Hungry, for example, was home to 50 million _________________,
Hungarians,
_______________, and Ukrainians, who are often hostile to one another. Many of the
groups wanted their
own _________________ countries.

The Immediate Cause of World War One:

The Assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand
Despite all of the major reasons why the war might have started, the actual
incident that triggered World War I took place in a small corner of Europe
called Sarajevo, a city in the Austrian state of Bosnia.
Both Serbia and Bosnia were regions which had just recently broken away
from Turkey. Bosnia was immediately taken over by Austria-Hungary; Serbia
became an independent state. But both were small and weak, and each
looked for help from bigger countries. Serbia found an ally in Russia, and
Russia swore to stand by Serbia in times of need. Serbia also was unfriendly
to Austria-Hungary, her neighbour to the north. Notice that both Russia (as a
member of the Entente) and Austria-Hungary (as a member of the Alliance)
were automatically on opposite sides of the fence on most important issues.
On June 28, 1914, the Crown Prince of Austria, named Franz Ferdinand, paid a
visit to Sarajevo to inspect troops. The following is passage from L.E.
Snelgroves The Modern World Since 1870.
The conspirators were no more than boys. They knew very little about
European politics. They wanted Bosnia-Herzegovina to be part of Serbia, and
believed that this could only be done with pistols and bombs. Most of them
were very frightened on that June morning; some were to prove inefficient
murderers. Gavrilo Princip had seen the Archduke and his wife a few days
before, shopping in the bazaar at Sarajevo. He had done nothing because he
wanted the Archdukes execution to be a public one. Now he and the others
were spread out along a riverside road called Appel Quay, covering the route
to be used by the Archduke on his official visit to the town.
Franz Ferdinand arrived by train at 9:29am. After inspecting a military camp
opposite the station, he and his wife climbed into a dark green Graf and Stift
four-cylinder limousine. This car was second in a motorcade which carried
soldiers and officials, including the towns governor, General Potiorek, and the
owner of the car, Franz, Count Harrach. Countess Sophia looked beautiful in a
high-collared white dress and white hat. The Archduke was in uniform, a light
blue tunic, black trousers and a cocked hat topped with large, green ostrich
feathers. As the cars rolled slowly into the town, they were cheered by people
lining the Quay. Without knowing it, the imperial visitors passed two
conspirators who were so terrified they did nothing. They then reached

Nedjelko Cabrinovic. Jumping forward to avoid hurting spectators, this man

knocked his bombs cap off against a fire hydrant and threw it at the
Archdukes car.
Franz Ferdinand saw it coming and, with great presence of mind, he deflected
it into the road. It burst with a loud explosion, wrecking the car behind and
injuring its occupants. The Archduke remained very cool. I threw it and then
noticed how calmly Ferdinand turned towards me and looked at me with a
cold, stiff glare, Carbinovic remembered later. The Serbian then swallowed
poison and jumped in the river. The poison failed to work. Within minutes he
was dragged out and arrested. Meanwhile the Archdukes car accelerated
and drove to the Town Hall where the Mayor stood ready to welcome his
famous visitors. By this time Franz Ferdinand had recovered sufficiently to be
angry. He brushed the Mayor aside and cancelled the rest of the tour.
It was decided to leave Sarajevo as soon as Franz Ferdinand had seen his
wounded officers in the hospital. In case there was another murder attempt,
it was thought best to leave by the Appel Quay instead of the advertised
route. Franz Ferdinand wanted his wife to stay behind but she insisted on
remaining with her husband. Since there seemed little chance of trouble now,
Ferdinand agreed. The party climbed aboard once more. Count Harrach
decided to stand on the running board so that he could jump at any attacker.
As it turned out, he chose the wrong side of the car. And in the confusion,
nobody told the driver of the change of plan.
The car started back along the Appel Quay but at Franz Joseph street, the
driver turned right. He should have gone straight on so Potiorel told him to
turn around. This was fatal because Princip was standing nearby. As the car
reversed towards him he stepped forward and fired two shots. The first struck
the Archdukes throat. The second hit Sophia in the stomach. Franz
Ferdinand, blood pouring from his mouth, saw that his wife was hit. Sophia!
Sophia! he cried out. Dont die! Keep alive for our children. It was too
late. His wife died even as he shouted. By the time the car reached the
Governors residence, Franz Ferdinand was dead also. Princip meanwhile
swallowed poison. Like Carbinovics, it was useless and only made him sick.
He was arrested and beaten up by police.
It was 10:15 am on the anniversary of the Archdukes wedding day. A friend
of the conspirators sent a message to Belgrade, the Serbian capital. It read,
Excellent sale of both horses. The plotters in Serbia knew what this meant.
What they could not know was the terrible effects those two shots were going
to have on world history.

This act of violence gave Austria-Hungary the excuse it was looking for, and
invaded Serbia to teach the Serbs a lesson. Russia, as a friend of Serbia, then
declared war on Austria-Hungary. Germany, as an ally of Austria-Hungary,
declared war on Russia. As Germany knew France was an ally of Russia,
Germany began to attack France. The circle was complete with the
declaration of war by Britain.
Thus, from one small act of violence in Bosnia, all of Europe was thrust into
war.

The Road to War

June 28, 1914
Gavrilo Princip and the Black Hand
_____________ the Archduke Franz
Ferdinand.
July 28, 1914
___________-____________ declares war on
Serbia.
July 29 1914
________ responds and sends troops to the
borders of Austria-Hungary and Germany

August 1, 1914
____________ declares war on Russia

_____________, 1914
Germany declares war on France
What are the circumstances by which Canada declares war?

Label this map and use this map to visualize the various military movements in
1914.

Cause and Consequence:

In your opinion, were the alliances or the assassinations more

responsible for starting the war?

FOR DISCUSSION: What does calling Britain the mother country

suggest about how Canadians viewed Britain?

RECRUITMENT
Sir Sam Hughes
Minister of _____

Something cool Ive learned about why Canadians enlisted in war:

Cause and Consequence:

Consider Canadian economic conditions in 1914. What factors, besides

patriotism, might have motivated so many to sign up so quickly?